Oil spill cleanup underway in suburban Oklahoma City

YUKON, Okla. (AP) — A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Agency says cleanup is underway in suburban Oklahoma City where about 2,000 barrels of oil spilled from a ruptured pipeline.

EPA on-scene coordinator Mike McAteer said Tuesday workers are skimming oil off the surface of a 7-acre pond near a neighborhood outside Yukon, about 17 miles (27 kilometers) west of Oklahoma City.

McAteer says oil bubbled into the pond early Sunday from a pipeline operated by Centurion Pipeline L.P. He says crews will tunnel beneath the pond to inspect the ruptured pipeline and prevent further releases.

McAteer says cleanup efforts have been slowed by rain and sub-freezing temperatures in the area.

Centurion spokesman Eric Moses says the company is making progress “and will continue to work safely and efficiently until our work is complete.”